Automatic automobile engine-starter.



1. w HOFFNER. AUTOMATIC AUTOMOBILE "ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION FILED DEC-11, 1914.

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61 ftoz ug 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Patented Dec. 28

J, W. HOFFNER.

l AUTOMATIC AUTGMOBILE ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.11, 1914.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' tomobile engines.

- the present device.

JOHN WESLEY HOFFNER, OF SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA AUTOMATIC AUTOMOBILE ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

Application filed December 11, 1914:. Serial No. 876,709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. Horrnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salisbury, in the county of Rowan and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Automobile Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the subject of automatic starters for internal combustion engines, and has particular reference to a novel device of this character that is especially adapted for use in connection with au- Many devices of this character employing spring motors are very complicated and need constant attention and repair, thereby reducing their practical value and prohibiting a general adoption of this type of device for starting the engines of motor cars.

Accordingly, the present invention has in view the provision of a novel, simple, and practical construction which embodies few parts other than essential substantial gears and a double strength spring motor having suitable operating connections with said gears, thereby providing a reliable and efli-' cient starter.

Another object of the invention is to pro-. vide a starter which will be automatically rewound and reset by the engine after the latter has been set in motion by the starter, and to also provide for rewinding the spring motor by hand if the engine should be at fault and not respond to the action of That is to-say, if the engine does not run under its own power to automatically rewind the spring driving motor, the invention contemplates means for rewinding the said motor by hand so thatit may again be reset for further spinningof the engine shaft.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide an engine starter that may be readily fitted to machines now in use as well as to cars when they are built, and which will in no way interfere with the cranking of the engine by hand when desired or should the starter itself refuse to properly spin the engine shaft. In other words, the present invention contemplates a starter having no operative connection with any portion of the engine except the drive shaft,

and that only when the device is turning the said shaft and when the engine is rewinding the spring motor after it has started.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construct1on, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. 7

A preferred and practical embodimentof the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the present invention, showing its application to an internal combustion engine indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the improved starter. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 1 showing the relative position of parts when the oscillating bracket element is in its neutral position. That is when the pinion of the engine shaft is out of engagement entirely with the starter. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the relative position of parts when the lug' of the oscillating bracket is in the inner groove of the cam wheel and the drive pinion is in mesh with the pinion on the engine shaft. Fig. 6 is another view similar to Figs. 4 and 5 showing the relative position of parts when the lug of the oscillating bracket is traveling in the outer groove and the rewinding pinion is in mesh with the motor driven gear wheel and the pinion on the engine shaft. In this view the lug of the bracket is about to leave the rewinding groove and enter the keeper slot for resetting. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the interior construction and arrangement of springs within the spring motor casing. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the cam wheel.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

. With particular reference to the details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that the reference letter F designates an internal combustion engine including the usual frame portion F and having the usual engine shaft S.

Upon the frame Fof the engine or vehicle, and in front of the cylinders is preferablv arranged a main supporting frame 1 which carries at one side thereof a spring motor 2, and also supports an oscillating bracket element 3 mounted upon a stubshaft or slide 4:- Arranged upon the said axle l, concentric with the oscillating bracket 3 is a main motor driven gear 5 meshing with an intermediate transmission 'gear 6 I which gears with the driving pinion 7 of the'motor 2. The said oscillating bracket element 3 which is pivoted on theaxle'l, preferably includes 'a bifurcated portion comprising the gear supporting members 8 and 9, and an arm portion 10 extending-to one side of the members of the bifurcated portion. The said members 8 and 9"have .respectively journaled therein a shaft driving pinion 11 and a. 'ewinding pinion 12,

which latter meshes with a reversing pinion- 13 journaledin the arm portion 10;o f the I mesh with eitherthe gear 5 or pinion 12 or both, to permit the spring motor to be hand oscillating bracket. .This reversing pinion 13 is always normally in mesh with the motor driven gear wheel 5 and therewinding-pinion 12, and may freely rotate when the starter is turning the engine shaft through the medium of the pinion 11 infa clockwise direction, since the rewinding -pinion 12 during this operation is entirely out vof mesh with the pinion 14 carried by the engine shaft. -journaled so that it is relativelymovable. Thatis to say, it is mounted on an axis- Tlie reversing pinion 13 is that may be shifted so as to lift it out of wound by'means of a suitable tool engaging with the squared end of themotor shaft 2.

' ent that when the cam or eccentric axle member 16 is "inthe position shown in the drawings, the reversing pinion is in its normal operative-position, but can .be easily connected witha cam wheel 19. That is to,-

. by which the said bracket is oscillated during the rotationof the cam wheel. The said shifted to an inoperative position by turn- .ing the handle 17 to one side. The .extreme end of' the. arm 10 of the oscillating bracket'is provided with a laterally projecting lug 18 which is operatively say, the lug 1.8 carried by thearm of'the oscillating bracket element 3 is the'means cam .wheel is carried upon the main frame 1 by means of an axle shaft 20, and .in

eludes ahub portion 21 and an exterior -cir .cumferential gear ring 22 meshing with an.

- auxiliary driving pinion 23 mounted on the same shaft 24 with the transmission gear 6.

' 23, I the latter meshing with the exterior The-working face It'will. thus be apparent that the cam wheel 19 is-driven by the train of gears 7, 6 and gear ring 22.

h of the cam wheel 19 is recessed to provide an interior wall 25v and is also provided with an inner driving groove 26 and an outer rewinding groove 27 which 1s connected with the sa d groove 26 and in communication therewith by means .of. an' -inlet passage 28 and a separate outlet passage .29, thus forming a substantially continuous cam groove or guideway in which the lug 18' of the oscillating bracket-may 1 travel. one wall'of the passage 28 is provided with a keeper socket '30 for'rec'eiving' the lug 18which is'normally guided and held therein by means of a keeper spring 31 having one end fixed as at 32 to the inner cylindrical sidewall 25 of the .camwheel. The passage of the lug 18 through the contin uous guidewayis facilitated by means of atransferring spring 33, one. end of which .whichit is affixed, while the free end 34 ner groove 26 adjacent the outlet passage '29, so that when the'lug 18 reaches this passage; it is quickly transferred or shifted encircles the hub 21 of the cam wheel to Jextends acrossthe outlet portion of the in- I to the outer or rewinding gro0ve .27. It

will thus be apparent that the-normal position of the lug 18 when" the oscillating bracket is in'its neutral position, as shown in Fig. 4, is in the keeper socket 30, and inorder to oscillate the bracket to throw the ydriving pinion 11 into mesh withthe shaft pinion it is necessary 'to release the lug from the keeper; socket and throw it into the. inner or driving groove 26.

The-release of the .lug 18 from the keeper socket, is manually.v effected by means ofa suitable foot" lever mechanism designated .in its entirety by the numeral 35; mechanism. includes a bell crank lever 36 -'jour naledin .a bracket 37 and having a link This connection 38 at one end with the rear end 18 of the lug or an equivalent portion of the arm 10 of the oscillating bracket. inasmuch as the said lugg18 is carried thereby. The other end or arm of the bell crank. lever'36 is pivotally connected with a longitudinally movable rocker rod 39 \vhichconne'cts with a foot pedal 40 pivoted in a suitable bracket .41 to the car body directly in front of the drivers seat. For

the purpose of aiding in maintaining the rod and pedal 40in their normal position a spring 42 may be arranged between the 39, but if desired,-this spring may be dispensed with as fthe'movem'ent of the lug 18 from one groove to the other also moves the bell crank in-sucli amanner that the foot pedal 40 is automatically returned or reset. When the entire device is in its normal position as shown in Figs; 1, 2, 3, and 4, the I driving pinion 1'1 and 'rewinding pinion 12 willbe out of mesh with the shaft pinion 14, the lug 18 willbein the keeper socket 30, and the foot pedaltO will be in its normal position as shown in Fig. 2. In order to render the device operative to start the enbracket and a collar 43.carried;on the rodgine, the operator presses the foot pedal 40 which actuates the foot lever mechanism 35 and lifts the lug 18 out of the socket 30 into the inner or driving groove of the cam wheel. Since the cam wheel 19 is geared with the motor 2, the latter will rotate the said cam wheel and cause the lug 18 to follow the path of the arrows in Figs. 4 and 5. At the same instant that the lug 18 is thrown out of the keeper socket, the oscillating bracket element 3 rocks on its pivot and forces the shaft-driving pinion 11 into mesh with the shaft pinion 14, thus spinning the engine shaft and starting the engine. The spring motor then exerts its influence upon the shaft pinion 14 through the medium of the -motor driven gear 5, the intermediate transmission gear 6, and the driving pinion 7 of the motor, and for all of this period the driving pinion 11 is inmesh with the motor driven gear 5 and shaft pinion 14, and the lug 18 is traveling in the inner groove 25.

.Since the initial action of the starter sets the internal combustion engine E in motion, the shaft S of the latter through the shaft- 'pinion 14 rewinds the spring motor 2 as it continues running. That is to say, after the lug 18 has completed its course through the inner driving groove 26 of the cam Wheel, and enters the passage 29, it is thrust into the outer rewinding groove 27 by means of the transferring spring 33. This action automatically throws the driving pinion 11 out of mesh with the shaft pinion 14, and throws the rewinding pinion 12 into mesh therewith as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. The said rewinding-pinion 12 thus being in mesh with the shaft pinion 14 re ceiving power from the engine of the motor car will in turn transmit motion to the reversing pinion 13 which meshes with the motor driven gear wheel 5, and thislatter wheel through the gear wheel 6 will turn the motor'pinion 7 in a reverse direction to that in which it rotates to affect the starting of the combustion engine,- thereby rewinding the spring motor and returning the lug 18 to the keeper socket 30. This movement of the several parts of the device automatically resets the starter for the next operation and returns the oscillating bracket to its normal neutral position as shown inJ Fig.4. I

In connection with the movement of the lug 18 in the outer groove 27, it will be observed that when the same is about to enter the passage 28, it encounters the bowed portion of the keeper spring 31 which not only has'a tendency to aid in shifting the lug from the outer groove toward the inner groove, but has the important function of forcing the said lug into the keeper socket 30 formed in the wall of the passage between these two grooves' This spring 31 therefore provides against the lug 18 going from the outer groove 27 to the inner groove 26 direct without stopping at the resetting point.-

The spring motor 2 is especially designed and constructed to provide for spinning the engine shaft a suflicient length of time to insure the starting of the engine, providing, of course, the engine is in proper working condition. By reference to Fig. 7 it will be observed that the spring motor 2 essentially comprises an outer casing 44 and an interior casing 45 provided with a flange 46 and a sleeve 47, the latter embracing the motor shaft 2 and the former registering with the cylindrical side wall of the outer casing 44. This construction makes possible the use of two coil springs, thereby insuring the motor of double strength. One spring 48 has its outer free end secured as at 49 to the outer casing 44 while its inner ends are fastened as at 50 to the sleeve 47 of the interior casing. The other spring 51' is housed within the inner casing 45 and has its outer free end fastened as at 52 to the flange 45 while its inner end is secured as atv 53 directly to the shaft 2 The spring 51 will unwind uponthe release of the lug 18 from the keeper socket 30, and the spring 48 will do likewise, thus transmitting motion to the motor shaft 2 with twice the power as either one of the springs could singly.

From the foregoing description, it is thought that the many features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent, and it will of course be understood. that minor details of construction may be resorted to and various changes in the arrangement of the gearing may be made without sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, or departing from its spirit or scope of the appended claims.

I claimz' 1. An automobile engine starter.comprising in combination with the engine shaft having a pinion thereon and a spring motor, of a supporting frame, a movable carrierv mounted on said frame and having pinions, gearing adapted to be actuated by said motor and in constant gear with one wheel for automatically causing said pinions to alternately -mesh with the pinion on the engine shaft.

the pinion on the e'ngine shaft forpermitting the spring motor to rotate the latter and then be rewound, and means for automatically controlling the movement of said oscillating bracket.

4. An automobile engine starter comprising in combination with the engine shaft] wheel, and means for throwing said p nion having a pinion thereon, and a spring motor, of a supporting frame, an oscillating bracket element having one end pivotally mounted on said frame and having spaced apart pinions at its other end, gearing adapted to be actuated by said motor, andv means for automatically shifting said bracket to cause said pinions to alternately engage with the pinion on the engine shaft.

5. An automobile engine starter comp-rising-in combination with the engine shaft having a pinion thereon and a spring motor, of a supporting frame, an oscillating bracket pivotally suspended from said frame and having pinions, gearing adapted to be actuated by said motor, cam means gearedwith said motor and operatively connected with said bracket for oscillating the same, and manually controlled means for rendering the cam means and motor operative. g

6. An automobile engine starter compris-,. ing in combination with the engine shaft having apinion thereon, of a. supporting frame, a spring motor carried by said frame,

an oscillating bracket. element having a bifurcated portion and an arm, a shaft driving pinion and a rewinding pinion respectively c'arriedby each member of said blfurcated portion, a lug carried by the arm of the bracket, gearing connected with said motor and including a reversing pinion,

and manually controlled'means including a cam wheel for throwing said shaft driving pinion into mesh with the gearing and pinion on the engine shaft, and automatically throwing the said shaft-driving pinion out of mesh and the rewinding pinion into mesh With the gearing and pinion on the engine shaft to rewind the spring motor.

7. An automobile engine starter comprising in combination with the engine shaft having a pinion thereon and a spring motor having a driving pinion, of a motor driven gear, an automatically oscillating bracket arranged concentric with said motor driven gear and having pinions adapted to alternately mesh with the pinion on the engine shaft for permitting the. spring motor to rotate the latterand then be rewound, and a reversing pinion normally in engagement withfthe motor driven wheel and capable of being disengaged therefrom.

8. An automobile engine starter comprising in combination with the engineshaft having apinionthereon and 'a-sprlng motor having a driving pinion, ofamotor driven gear, an

automatically oscillating bracket arranged concentric with said'motor driven gear and having pinions" adapted to alternately mesh with the pinionon the engine shaft for permitting'the'spring motor-to rotate the latter and thenbe' rewound, and a reversing pinion carried by the 'oscillating'bracket and normally in engagementwith said motor driven out of mesh with the motor driven gear.

9. An; automobile engine starter comprising in combination withthe engine shaft having a pinion thereon, of a supporting frame, a spring motor carried thereby, a gear a lug on the bracket, pinions mounted on said bracket, a cam wheel having concentric com-.

municating grooves and a keeper socket, the latter normally holding said lug and the former directing its movement, a gear carried by the cam wheel and connected to the motor,-and a manually controlled lever for ejecting said lug from the keeper socket,

11. An automobile engine starter com prising in combination with the engine shaft having a pinion thereon, of a frame, a motor, a motor driven gear, a motor driven cam wheel having concentric communicating cam grooves, and a keeper socket, an oscillating bracket element mounted concentrically with said motor driven gear, a lug carried by said bracket normally held 1n said keeper socket,

pinions'carried by said bracket, and manually controlled means for releasing the lug from the keeper socket to automatically shift the pinions carried by the bracket element into mesh with the motor driven gear and pinion on the engine shaft to rotate the latter and rewind and reset the motor.

12. An automobile engine starter comprising in combination with the engine shaft having a pinion thereon, of a frame, a motor, a motor driven gear, a motor driven cam wheel having concentric communicating grooves and a keeper socket between said grooves, said cam wheel also having'a keeper spring and a transferring spring, and a gear ring operatively connected with said motor, an oscillating bracket element concentrically mounted with said motor driven gear, a lug carried by said bracket and normally resting in said keeper socket, pinions carried by said bracket, and manually controlled means for ejecting the lug from the keeper socket. 13. An automobile engine starter comprising the combination with an engine shaft having a pinion thereon, of a frame, an oscillating bracket element carried by said frame and having pinions for alternately meshing with the pinion on the engine shaft, gearing for connecting with the pinions carried by the bracket, a cam wheel for controlling said bracket, and a spring motor connected with sald gearing andcam .Wheel, said sprlng -motor including an exterior casing, a motor shaft, an interior casing formed with a sleeve and mounted on said shaft, a 0011 spring having one end fixed to the outer casing and JOHN WESLEY HoFFNiER.

Witnesses:

J. C. KEsLER, G. D. DEVEREUX. 

